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Make Death Fun

VOTE for the vampire that most interests you

http://causeofdeathbook.blogspot.com/

Death Has Moved

Blogging about death has moved to http://causeofdeathbook.blogspot.com/ .
Want to know if you're more likely to die from hot tap water or herpes, a coconut or a hippo, a shark or hemorrhoids? Read the book "Cause of Death" and check the blog for answers to those and other really important questions about how we die. The more you know about death, the longer you'll stay alive.

Marijuana Kills

A recent article in Scientific American cites a study showing marijuana can kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). That might be great news if it could be used for that purpose.

3: Number of deaths in the U.S. from cannabis use as reported by the CDC in 2001

5,500: Number of average annual deaths in the U.S. from Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) as reported by the CDC between 1999 and 2005

829,600: Number of persons arrested for marijuana in 2006 as reported by the Bureau of Justice Statistics

16: Average annual mortality rate from AIDS per 100,000 U.S. state prisoners 2001-2006

6.3: Annual mortality rate for all males in the US from AIDS in 2005 (9,189 male deaths out of a total of 12,543 U.S. deaths)

LINKS

http://www.cdc.gov/eid/content/13/12/1840.htm

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/dcf/tables/drugtype.htm

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/dcrp/tables/dcst06spt11.htm

Wash Your Hands

I was recently telling a friend of mine some of the things I learned researching death statistics for the Cause of Death book that have changed the way I do things. I’m more careful now when I cross the street, for example. And, although I’ve always been pretty good about washing my hands, I am even better about it now. It turns out there are millions of microbes that live on our hands. While most of them are harmless, many cause the illnesses that are responsible for over 10 million deaths a year in the world. In 2002, for example, at least 17% of all 57 million deaths in the world were caused by the common bugs that can live on your hands. These deadly microbe-caused diseases include flu, bronchitis, pneumonia, diarrhea, TB, measles, whooping cough, meningitis, some types of hepatitis and approx. 18% of all cancers. For more interesting info on microbes, check this out: http://www.microbeworld.org/know/important.aspx and don’t forget to wash!

Toxic Tomatoes?

Top 5 Parasitic and Infectious Disease Deaths, U.S. 2005
(not including BUGS deaths coded to “other” by the CDC)
1. Septicemia (included in “Other” worldwide deaths) 32,238
2. HIV/AIDS 12,543
3. Hepatitis 5,529
4. Meningitis 669
5. Tuberculosis 648
Estimates of total U.S. deaths from salmonella, including Salmonella-caused deaths in septicemia death totals, run between 500 and 600 per year whereas CDC coded deaths from Salmonella infections alone totaled only 30 in 2005 and 41 in 2001. Over 75% of all septicemia deaths occur over age 65.
According to research done by Margie Lees, a microbiologist at UGA’s College of Veterinary Medicine (http://www.ovpr.uga.edu/researchnews/9697fw/fatal.html), there is only one type of chicken-borne salmonella that can cause septicemia, a potentially fatal blood disease. So salmonella from tomatoes, or other vegetables, is not too likely to kill anyone and is far less dangerous than a multitude of other BUGS.
According to a 7/4/2008 article in theWashington Post, the latest salmonella scare has tomato crop losses above $100 million dollars. This result could bring on bouts of depression, with far worse consequences than salmonella-caused disease (see suicide stats below).
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/04/AR2008070400638.html)
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/FactSheets/Salmonella_Questions_&_Answers/index.asp

Americans and Guns

According to a 7/9/08 Reuters article, the editors of the New England Journal of Medicine said that the recent Supreme Court ruling striking down a strict gun control law in the U.S. capital will lead to more deaths and accidental injuries. According to Justice Antonin Scalia (who was in the 5-4 majority on the decision) citizens may prefer handguns for home defense because they “can be pointed at a burglar with one hand while the other hand dials the police.” I would agree with the New England Journal of Medicine. Based on the stats related to deaths in the U.S. from firearms, it’s more likely those citizens with easier access to guns will be pointing them at their own heads, or at the heads of other people they are mad at, than using them for self defense in their homes.
Number of firearm caused deaths in the USA, 2005
17,002 Suicides (out of 32,637 total suicides)
12,352 Homicides (out of 18,124 total homicides )
789 Accidental discharges (out of 117,809 total accidental deaths)
143 Number of private citizen justifiable homicides (out of 192 total)
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN0938674920080709
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr56/nvsr56_10.pdf (Table 10)
http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/05cius/offenses/expanded_information/murder_homicide.html (Table 14)